"We're going to finally go back to the days when people were waiting," Arnaldo Richards told the Houston Chronicle in September. He said it about a room with fewer seats than the one he had just left.
Richards and his wife Janice opened Picos in 1984 in a small space on Bellaire Boulevard. In 2014 they moved it to a much larger building at Richmond and Kirby. Picos closed there at the end of August 2026. Two weeks later it was serving shaker margaritas and cochinita pibil again at 3736 Westheimer Road. On paper, that sounds like a restaurant that moved. The terms behind it tell more about how Houston's older dining rooms are surviving in 2026.
A Partnership Where a Lease Used to Be
Picos did not come back by finding a cheaper lease. According to the Chronicle, Richards signed a memorandum of understanding with Heritage Restaurant Group, the company that operated Cyclone Anaya's Tex-Mex Kitchen at the Westheimer address. Heritage agreed to close Cyclone Anaya's and relaunch the space as Picos. Richards runs the restaurant day to day and splits both profits and expenses with Heritage.
Getting there took a while. In August 2025, with sales down 18% from the year before, Richards announced Picos would close. He then pushed the closing back, planned a move to a smaller space, struggled to find a new lease, and wondered whether to reopen at all. The Heritage agreement came, in the Chronicle's words, "at the 11th hour."
The menu is the same: parrilla plates, ceviches, filete al chipotle, cochinita pibil. "I want people to continue to experience the same things that they had experienced for the last 42 years," Richards said.
A Smaller Room by Design
The Westheimer room is about two-thirds the size of the Richmond and Kirby location. The old restaurant seated roughly 240 people indoors and had two patios. The new one has 191 seats. That's a bit bigger than Richards first pictured. He hopes it's small enough to fix the empty-seats problem he had on Richmond.
The fit-out shows the same thrift. Most of the wooden tables and woven-back chairs stayed from Cyclone Anaya's. Picos brought the details that make the place recognizable: Talavera plates on the walls, plants growing from Milagro tequila barrels, and a portrait of Richards' late brother Alex looking out over the dining room. Open rafters and geometric red lights over the bar give the space a more modern look.
Running a restaurant this way means less space and less inventory, with a partner sharing the costs. The kitchen still serves the same food.
Why the Others Closed
Picos was one of many. The Chronicle counted 16 restaurant closings in August alone, during Houston Restaurant Weeks. Among the long-running names that closed this summer and fall, the stated reasons fall into a few groups.
| Restaurant | Open since | Last service | Stated reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbecue Inn, Oak Forest | 1946 | Early August 2026 | Owner Wayne Skrehot, 86, retiring; high costs since COVID |
| Istanbul Grill, Rice Village | 27 years | July 18, 2026 | Lease circumstances and years of landlord problems |
| Shiva, 5220 Buffalo Speedway | 1990 | Aug. 21, 2026 | Owners retiring |
| Pappasito's Cantina "Sito's #1," 6445 Richmond Ave. | 1983 | Sept. 13, 2026 | Long-term outlook for the location |
| Don José Mexican Restaurant | 52 years | Summer 2026 | Rising costs, including rent |
| Qin Dynasty, near West University | 2001 | By mid-September 2026 | Not made public |
| Bistro Le Cep, Westchase | 2001 | June or July 2026 | Not made public |
Sources disagree on how long Shiva ran. Community Impact says 35 years and the Chronicle's August roundup says 37. Community Impact reports that it opened in Rice Village in 1990.
Shiva's story looks like an earlier version of what Picos just did. Owners Abraham and Susan Mathew moved it from Rice Village to Buffalo Speedway in 2022 because of rising rent and pandemic pressures. That move bought four more years. The August closing was a retirement.
Barbecue Inn's ending was about one owner and one long career. Skrehot was six when his father opened the restaurant. He took it over at 20 after his father died in 1956 and ran it with his brother for 50 years. His son has worked there for the past 15 years. The economics weighed on him too. "Since COVID, nothing's been the same, and we're just more or less the last couple of years working for nothing really," he told the Chronicle.
Pappasito's #1 had a different kind of exit. The chain grew from that Richmond and Hillcroft corner to 23 Texas locations and one in Georgia. Pappas Restaurants offered every employee at the closing location a job at another Pappas restaurant. The brand is still here. The address is what Pappas let go.
The Other Comebacks Also Changed Hands or Addresses
Every return or planned return found in this year's coverage involves a change in ownership, partnership, or location. None involves a new menu.
- El Tiempo Cantina Webster, 20237 Gulf Freeway, closed Sept. 2. Ten days later the restaurant announced it would reopen under the Laurenzo family, putting the location back under the family that founded the El Tiempo brand. The outgoing operator gave no public reason for the closing. As of an Oct. 3 report, the reopening was expected "this fall" with no set date.
- Relish Restaurant & Bar plans to leave 2810 Westheimer for The RO at 3120 Buffalo Speedway. Co-founders Dustin Teague and Addie D'Agostino started Relish as a market in 2011 and turned it into a full-service restaurant in 2016. They expect to stay on Westheimer through the end of 2026 and open at The RO in 2027.
- Watson's House of Ales in the Energy Corridor closed in early August after 30 years. Its owners have teased a new concept called Nowhere But Texas but haven't given a date or explained the change.
Only Picos has actually reopened so far. El Tiempo and Relish are still plans, and either date could change.
What Is Still Unsettled
Several of this year's closings leave open questions for anyone who drives past the empty buildings. Here's where the most recent coverage left each one:
- 6445 Richmond Ave. As of Sept. 1, Pappas was still weighing what to do with the Pappasito's site and hadn't made a final decision.
- 3601 Kirby Dr. Community Impact's Sept. 22 story covered Picos' move to Westheimer and said nothing about what comes next for the old Kirby building.
- Barbecue Inn, Oak Forest. The Chronicle's September roundup covered the closing and Skrehot's retirement but included no plan for the building.
- Istanbul Grill. In June the family said it was exploring a move to a new location but had no immediate plans underway.
Where the Regulars Can Go Now
For Pappasito's regulars from the Richmond and Hillcroft location, Pappas itself recommended two nearby spots: Little Pappasitos on Kirby and Pappasitos Cantina at Memorial City.
For Picos regulars, the shaker margaritas and filete al chipotle are now on Westheimer. The restaurant scheduled its formal grand opening for Thursday, Sept. 24. La Prensa de Houston listed hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Richards' daughter Angelica is the brand engagement manager, and his sister Claudia runs catering.
Picos survived because Richards changed the terms he was willing to accept, from a conventional lease to a partnership where costs and profits are shared. Property deals work the same way, and the terms often matter as much as the address. Kathi Jesse's legal training and three decades of negotiation, plus in-house escrow and lending coordination, help Houston clients structure deals that hold up. If you're weighing a move, a sale, or an investment in Houston, The Jesse Group is glad to talk it through. Schedule a Consultation.
